
Forty runners set off in near perfect conditions at 12 noon on the Saturday to circle the 400metre track at the superb south London venue of Tooting Bec athletics track. Unlike a standard marathon or a 100km race where a fixed distance is covered in a certain time, in a 24 hour race the time is fixed and the distance covered, as laps are meticulously recorded, determines the end result. Men’s pre race favourites were Chris Finill(Harrow) and Jim Rogers(East Hull) and it was these two who showed at the front after the race settled down.